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What
is a 'hook'? Delson's Dictionary defines it as '[t]hat part of a song,
sometimes the title or key lyric line, that keeps recurring' (Hurst and
Delson 1980, p. 58). According to songwriters Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn,
hooks are 'the foundation of commercial songwriting, particularly hit-single
writing'. Hooks may involve repetition of 'one note or a series of notes...
[or of] a lyric phrase, full lines or an entire verse'. The hook is 'what
you're selling'. Though a hook can be something as insubstantial as a
'sound' (such as da doo ron ron), '[i]deally [it] should contain one or
more of the following: (a) a driving, danceable rhythm; (b) a melody that
stays in people's minds; (c) a lyric that furthers the dramatic action,
or defines a person or place' (Kasha and Hirschhorn 1979, pp. 28, 29).
The word
'hook' connotes being caught or trapped, as when a fish is hooked, and
also addiction, as when one is hooked on a drug. These connotations, together
with the idea of repetition, are captured in the Songwriter's Market definition
of hook:
'A memorable
"catch" phrase or melody line which is repeated in a song'
(Kuroff 1982, p. 397). Bennett (1983) defines a hook as an 'attention
grabber' (pp. 30, 41). The definition in Shaw (1982) is: 'An appealing
musical sequence or phrase, a bit of harmony or sound, or a rhythmic
figure that grabs or hooks a listener.... [Virtually no hit record is
without a bit of music or words so compelling that it worms its way
into one's memory and won't go away.' (p. 177) A radio listener, passing
by, so to speak, is caught or trapped by 'a "catch" phrase
or melody line' and may become hooked in the addictive sense as a result
of the hook's memorability and recurrence.
Perhaps
the most useful and succinct definition of hook is Monaco and Riordan's
(1980): 'a musical or lyrical phrase that stands out and is easily remembered'
(p. 178). This is the definition that will guide this article. According
to this definition, repetition is not essential in a hook, but is not
ruled out either. While hooks in the form of repetition may, to an extent,
be 'the foundation of commercial songwriting' and record-making, repetition
is meaningless without its opposite, change. The most extreme case of
repetition would be a test tone oscillator (which generates a pure tone)
turned on and left running indefinitely. So far nothing like this has
hit the Top Forty and, as anyone who has heard a test tone knows, the
constancy and starkness of it are annoying, not addicting.
At the opposite
extreme would be sound that changes constantly, without any repetition.
Such sound is hard to imagine because the ear's frequency range, the factor
of greatest concern in this case, is finite. In any random sequence of
sounds, repetition of frequencies is bound to occur before long. Repetition
may take place {2} randomly,
but the mind is certain to detect or impose a pattern, even if this pattern
is only the randomness itself. As Carl Seashore (1938) wrote, 'the grouping
into natural periods of the flow of attention is a biological principle
of preservative value..
[W]hen our
movements are not actually divided into objective periodicity, we tend
to fall into a subjective rhythm.' (p. 143) Effects such as white noise
(an electronic effect that sounds similar to rainfall or ocean waves),
which appear to be constantly changing, may also sound monotonous and
repetitive. Change is a continuum with a lower limit (perfect repetition,
the tone oscillator) but no upper limit.
Thus, repetition
and change are opposite possibilities from moment to moment in music.
The tension between them can be a source of meaning and emotion. Music-making
is, to a large degree, the manipulation of structural elements through
the use of repetition and change. Sometimes a repetition will be extreme,
but often it will incorporate minor changes, in which case it is a variation.
At certain points, major changes will occur. An example is modulation,
which in musical language means a major change in tonality. In this article,
'modulation' will be used in a more general way to refer to a major change
in any structural element (a complete list of structural elements will
be presented shortly).1 Thus, the continuum
of possible change of structural elements between two moments or units
in music is as follows:
The remainder
of this article will be concerned with the definition and classification
of the structural elements of music as specifically exemplified in pop
records, and with the analysis of how songwriters, performers and record
producers manipulate these structural elements through use of repetition,
variation and modulation to produce hooks. Songwriting involves mainly
the manipulation of textual elements, whereas performing and producing
involve mainly the manipulation of other, non-textual elements.2
These elements will be explained in the context of the following organisational
relationship:
-
Textual
elements:
- Musical
elements:
Rhythm
Melody
Harmony
Lyrics
- Non-textual
elements:
- Performance
elements:
Instrumentation
Tempo
Dynamics
Improvisation and accident
- Production
elements:
Sound effects
Editing
Mix
Channel balance
Signal distortion
{3}
Textual elements
Rhythm is
perhaps the most basic structural element of music. It can exist and be
pleasing by itself, but other structural elements cannot exist in any
meaningful sense without it. Rhythm is change. Something happens one moment
and does not happen the next moment. Between those two moments there has
been a change. The Kiki Dee Band's 'I've Got the Music in Me' (1974)3
begins with a bass guitar playing the same notes several times in a steady
rhythm. We hear note-pause-note-pause-note-pause.4
The note and pause are equally important. Without the pause there would
be no change and hence no rhythm.5 Each note-pause
combination takes an equal length of time. Rhythm is thus the repetition
of a basic pattern of change.
Besides
rhythm, the most commonly recognised structural elements in music are
melody and harmony. Melody is defined here as the tune of a song. When
whistling a favourite hit, it is the melody that one whistles. Melody
is the sequence of intervals (differences in pitch) that is represented
horizontally in sheet music. Harmony is the pattern of chords that backs
the melody. Harmony involves two or more notes played at the same time.
The pattern of simultaneous pitches is displayed vertically in sheet music.
One person whistling can produce melody but not harmony. Strumming a guitar,
on the other hand, produces harmony with little or no melody. The interdependence
of melody and harmony is apparent from two facts. First, it is often possible
to identify a song merely from hearing the chords played on a guitar.
That is, the harmony implies a melody one has previously heard. Second,
it is often possible, and sometimes practically unavoidable, to deduce
harmony when hearing a melody, even if one has not previously heard the
song.
Rhythm,
melody and harmony are the musical elements determined by the songwriter
(or songwriting team). The songwriter also contributes one other major
element, the lyrics. The music and lyrics together provide the basis for
the printed text of a song (sheet music). This text is the commonality
between different versions of the same song and is the reason they sound
similar.
Non-textual elements
Similar,
of course, does not mean alike. Performances differ, and recording technology
has given rise to the record producer, who has become an additional collaborator,
with the songwriter and performer, in the manipulation of structural elements.
Performance and production (recording) elements are non-textual in the
sense that they are specific to a particular recording.6
Usually they are manipulated to give an interpretation of a musical/lyrical
text. The exact plan followed by a performer or record producer may be
written down, but will probably not be published.7
Performance
elements include instrumentation, tempo, dynamics, and improvisation and
accident. Production elements include sound effects, editing, mix, channel
balance and signal distortion. The performance elements and production
elements together constitute the range of non-textual elements. The textual
and non-textual elements together provide the essential musical information
about a record.
Instrumentation
refers to the number and type of voices and musical instruments used in
a performance. Instrumentation is approximately synonymous {4}
with arrangement. Different types of instruments are distinguished acoustically
by such factors as range, timbre and characteristic types of attack and
decay. Additional factors determining which instrument is used in a specific
case include how fast the instrument can be played, whether it can play
chords, and what the instrument may suggest connotatively (e.g., bagpipes
suggest Scotland, Tom Jones's voice suggests his previous hits). A performer's
technical skill is an additional dimension of the general category of
instrumentation. Tempo, dynamics, and improvisation and accident, although
described below as separate categories, are obviously closely related
to technical skill and contribute along with it to the emotional effect
of the performance.
Tempo refers
to how fast a song is played. This is to be distinguished from rhythm,
which is a pattern of arrangement of durations and accents. The two hit
versions of 'Light My Fire' are played in the same rhythm, but José
Feliciano's (1968) is played at a slower tempo than the Doors' (1967).
Joe Cocker's 'With a Little Help from My Friends' (1968) has six beats
to a measure, whereas the Beatles' (1967) has four. Cocker's is also slower,
so that both the tempo and rhythm of the two versions are different. However,
a triplet pattern is implicit in the Beatles' rhythm, so Cocker's adaptation
still has a moderate degree of commonality with the original. A more extreme
case, although obscure, is 'Fever'. Peggy Lee's relatively famous version
(1958) is in four with implied triplets, similar to the Beatles' 'With
a Little Help from My Friends'. The McCoys' 1965 hit version, now rarely
heard, has the exact same rhythm as their more familiar 'Hang on Sloopy'
(1965). This is also a four rhythm, but with an important difference.
There are no implied triplets, but an implied doubling (rather than tripling)
of the beat, that is, an 8/8 feel. Indeed, the drummer hits the high hat
cymbal eight times per measure. The McCoys' 'Fever' sounds like a completely
different song from Peggy Lee's. Probably the most important reasons for
this are the changes in rhythm and tempo. A similar case is Neil Sedaka's
two hit versions of 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do' (1962, 1975). The original
has a four or eight rhythm and a fast tempo. The remake has a six or twelve
rhythm and a slow tempo. By changing both rhythm and tempo, Sedaka almost
makes the remake sound like a different song.
In pop records,
tempo is determined more by the performer than by the songwriter. The
text may indicate a tempo, but often this is a vague adverb such as 'Moderately'.
It is up to the performer to determine what 'Moderately' means and whether
this instruction should even be followed.
Dynamics
refers to loudness. Because pop music is so highly produced, the production
mix supersedes performance dynamics to a certain extent. However, it is
impossible to scream softly or whisper loudly, and it is often possible
to tell whether an instrument is being played loudly or softly on a record.
Crescendos, decrescendos, vibratos and similar effects are also recognisable.
Improvised
solos, scat lyrics, studio noises left in a recording, and crowd noises
in a live recording are just some of the possible departures from or additions
to a musical text that may take place during a performance. Closely related
to these are the more premeditated changes a performer can make in a text.
Verses may be removed, as in Orbit's 'The Beat Goes On' (1982), or a coda
may be added, as in Sonny and Cher's recording of 'I Got You Babe' (1965)
(the coda appears on the recording after the false ending, but not at
all in the sheet music).
Sound effects
are for the most part non-musical and are in the domain of the record
producer as opposed to that of the musical performer. Musical instruments
{5} can be used to mimic
sound effects, as in the synthesiser-as-police-siren opening of REO Speedwagon's
'Ridin' the Storm Out' (1973). True sound effects most often involve a
recording of an actual event, such as a clap of thunder. This recording
becomes an additional source for the producer to mix with the voices and
musical instruments, as in the Doors' 'Riders on the Storm' (1971).
Editing
involves the rearrangement of discrete passages of recorded material (which
may or may not be from the same original recording). In some cases 'rearrangement'
means addition or deletion. In a recording studio, editing is most often
done electronically, although in radio stations it is still more common
to edit tape by cutting it with a razor blade, then rejoining the pieces
in a new order or with sections added or removed. The most common use
of editing of this type is to make a long album cut or disco record into
a shorter version for release to radio stations or on 45 rpm records.
In these cases the edit points are normally in the middle of the song
and the aim is to make the edits unnoticeable. The aim is just the opposite
at the end of the Beatles' 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' (1969). In this
song, the music cuts to silence. The transition is instantaneous and jarring,
in contrast to the gradual fade-out (which is also a production effect)
and even the cold close, which is a performance effect involving an all-at-once
ending at full volume. In a cold close, the sound is allowed to reverberate
and decay normally at the end of a performance.
The mix
is the process through which the producer determines the volume of each
voice or instrument relative to the others (assuming that each is recorded
on a separate track on the tape and can have its volume controlled independently).
Mix is a further elaboration of the performance element of instrumentation.
It is possible to mix loudly a soft performance element such as the whisper
in Donovan's 'Mellow Yellow' (1966). It is also possible through overdubbing
to mix a voice with itself, as in Don McLean's 'Babylon' (1971) and Joni
Mitchell's 'Free Man in Paris' (1974).
Channel
balance refers to the complementarity of the two or more channels in stereophonic
sound. In a way, channel balance is an aspect of the mix, since it is
a function of the mixing board and is concerned with relative volume levels.
If channel balance changes, it may seem as though the source of sound
is travelling from speaker to speaker or, if one is using headphones,
through one's head.
Signal distortion
includes such effects as echo, reverb, phasing, speed alteration, and
playing tape backwards. A complete listing is impossible since the 'black
boxes' that produce the effects are so numerous and new ones appear regularly.
Many similar distortion effects also occur at the performance stage, for
example wah-wah and tremolo. Most can occur either in performance or production,
but are most likely to be a function of production. (For a partial inventory
of signal distortion effects used in both production and performance,
see Alten 1981, especially chaps. 11 and 14; Robinson 1971; and Bacon
1981.)
Examples
This section
of the article will demonstrate how it is possible to apply the foregoing
concepts in the analysis of specific passages in popular records. Readers
will undoubtedly notice that the examples are drawn almost exclusively
from the rock era. The reason for this is that most of these records are
assumed to be familiar to most readers and readily available to anyone
who might wish to listen to the examples as well as read about them.
The discussion
will explain the types of hooks commonly used in popular {6}
records. One purpose is to begin to alleviate one of the shortcomings
in the literature about popular music, namely the lack of analyses of
the musical structure of records. I pay little attention to the history
of the various types of hooks in order to be able to devote full attention
to the establishment of categories and a conceptual framework. The categories
should be fruitful as a point of departure for subsequent historical studies.
For example, a history of rhythm in Anglo-American pop since the 1950s
would need to take account of such factors as:
-
the widespread
use of six time in 1950s hits and its infrequent use in hits since
then;
-
use of
unusual rhythms (five, seven, nine etc.) by adventurous rock bands
and innovators in fusion and jazz-rock, especially since the late
1960s;
-
time
signature changes within songs, particularly in art rock, psychedelic
music and songs conceived as suites, trilogies, epics, etc.;
-
the spread
of reggae rhythms since the 1960s;
-
the prevalence
of disco rhythms in the late 1970s;
-
the coalescence
of various 1970s rhythmic trends into the rather homogeneous rhythm
of MTV-style rock in the 1980s (epitomised by eight-to-the-bar, with
a loud snare drum on three and seven).
Rather than
elaborate on this historical skeleton, the present discussion will seek
to identify the types of hooks that are possible and to provide examples
from familiar records. This will be done for each of the structural elements
previously listed, beginning with rhythm.
Rhythm hooks
Rhythm provides
a temporal skeleton for all the other structural elements of music, and
in some cases the skeleton itself becomes a hook. Rhythm almost always
involves repetition -- so to look for rhythmic hooks that operate by repetition
would be unproductive. If a straight 3/4 rhythm repeats throughout an
entire song, is it meaningful to speak of the rhythm as a hook? Once the
rhythm is established, hooks arise primarily from the other structural
elements. At the moment the rhythm is established, however, there is a
modulation, from no rhythm to some rhythm. Every song has at least one
modulation in which the rhythm is established. There is more than one
modulation if the rhythm changes during the song. Rhythmic hooks are thus
a result of change rather than repetition.
Many records
begin with the strong establishment of a rhythm. Use of solo drums, solo
bass, or drums and bass in duet at the start of a record will attract
especially great attention to rhythm because there is little or no melody
or harmony to attend to, and no lyrics. Records which begin this way include
the Strangeloves' 'I Want Candy' (1965), the McCoys' 'Fever' and 'Hang
on Sloopy', Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Fortunate Son' (1969), the
Rolling Stones' 'Honky Tonk Women' (1969) and 'Get off of My Cloud' (1965),
Los Bravos' 'Black Is Black' (1966), Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' (1982),
Donna Summer's 'Hot Stuff' (1979), Roy Orbison's 'Oh, Pretty Woman' (1964),
the Kiki Dee Band's 'I've Got the Music in Me', Stevie Wonder's 'Living
for the City', and Dolly Parton's '9 to 5' (compare also Ravel's Bolero).
In other cases, the establishment of a rhythm may be combined with the
establishment of a riff, that is, a repetitive melodic hook. Examples
include Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love' (1968) and 'Crossroads' (1968),
the Bee Gees' {7} 'Stayin'
Alive' (1977), the Standells' 'Dirty Water' (1966), Black Sabbath's 'Iron
Man' (1972), the Doors' 'Strange Days' (1967) (the rhythm is established
by a very quiet organ riff), the Kinks' 'You Really Got Me' (1964), the
Beatles' 'Day Tripper' (1965), and the Knack's 'My Sharona' (1979). In
these cases the rhythmic modulation is somewhat less noticeable because
the listener must also pay attention to melody (and harmony in the case
of 'Crossroads', 'Stayin' Alive', and the parallel fourths of 'You Really
Got Me'). Rhythm is even more obscured in songs that begin with lyrics
and fully developed instrumentation, such as the Rascals' 'People Got
to be Free' (1968) and the Beatles' 'We Can Work It Out' (1965).
In some
songs an introductory passage precedes the establishment of the main rhythm.
Examples include the Beatles' 'Here, There and Everywhere' (1966), 'Help!'
(1965) and 'Mr Moonlight' (1964), Three Dog Night's 'Eli's Coming' (1969),
the Four Seasons' 'Let's Hang On!' (45 version) (1965), and Culture Club's
'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me' (1982). Of course, the introductory passages
have rhythm as well, but in most cases it is masked by slow tempo and
by the prominence of other elements. The moment of the rhythmic hook in
these records comes when the introduction finally ends and the main rhythm
'kicks in'.
Rhythmic
modulation may occur at other points in a record as well, indicating a
rhythmic hook. In the Beatles' 'We Can Work It Out', the rhythm changes
from four to three during the lyric 'fussing and fighting, my friend'.
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (1975) is a mélange of different rhythms.
Richard Harris's 'MacArthur Park' (1968) mixes rhythms and tempos to create
segments which build to a melodramatic climax, after which comes 'falling
action' in the form of a return to the original rhythm and a slow tempo.
Many records have false endings, after which the rhythm is re-established
(e.g. the single version of the Beatles' 'Get Back' (1969), the Kiki Dee
Band's 'I've Got the Music in Me', and the Beatles' album Abbey Road (1969),
which surprises with 'Her Majesty').
Some records
have passages that skip a beat or have an extra beat. That is, an isolated
bar has a metre with one beat less, or more, than normal. Records with
skipped beats include Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' (1979), the Beatles'
'All You Need Is Love' (1967), and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' 'I Love
Rock 'n' Roll' (1981). Extra beats appear in several measures in the Beatles'
'Don't Let Me Down' (1969). After the occasional odd measure in these
records, the regular rhythm is re-established.
If a longer
passage of changed rhythm intrudes between passages in the dominant rhythm,
the moment when the dominant rhythm is re-established may have a powerful
hook effect, as at several points when the chorus 'kicks in' in the Beatles'
'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill' (1968). (In this case the dominant
tempo is also re-established.) Re-establishment of a riff or drum beat
can also serve as a hook. In the Rolling Stones' 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'
(1968), the riff is re-established after a short, riffless instrumental
break whose only purpose seems to be to set up the return of the riff.
In the Stones' 'Tumbling Dice' (1972), the drum beat returns at the end
of the record as the chorus continues to sing 'Got to roll me'. A similar
effect occurs in the Bee Gees' 'You Should Be Dancing' (1976). In 'Jumpin'
Jack Flash' it is primarily a melody that is re-established; in 'Tumbling
Dice' and 'You Should Be Dancing' it is primarily instrumentation. In
each case, however, a rhythmic homecoming is also involved, as if once
again rhythm is explicit after a period of being implicit.
Almost all
popular music, as well as the most familiar jazz and classical music,
is built on two, three, four, six, eight or twelve to the bar (on unusual
rhythms, see {8} Ellis 1972).
Releasing a record in any other rhythm may be thought of as modulation
at the level of genre. Examples are rare, but include:
-
five
time: Yvonne Elliman, 'Everything's Alright' (Jesus Christ Superstar)
(1971)
Cream, 'White Room' (opening) (1968)
-
ten time:
Lalo Schifrin, 'Mission: Impossible' (1967)
Jethro Tull, 'Living in the Past' (1972)
Blind Faith, 'Do What You Like' (1969)
-
seven
time: Pink Floyd, 'Money' (except for instrumental breaks in four)
(1973)
'The Temple' (from Jesus Christ Superstar) ('Roll on up' section)
(1971)
Metre is
part of the public domain. Anyone can write a song in three time which
will bear only a minimal resemblance to previous songs written in three
time. It is possible, however, to duplicate something as unique as a drum
rhythm. This constitutes rhythmic intertextuality, which depends for its
operation as a hook on the audience's familiarity with the work being
quoted. One of the most obvious cases is the previously discussed McCoys
recording of 'Fever', which quotes the opening of their own 'Hang On Sloopy'
using the following drum pattern:
Melody hooks
At one extreme,
a melody can include a single note repeated many times. Examples include
the Association's 'Along Comes Mary' (1966) and 'Cherish' (1966), Toni
Basil's 'Mickey' (1981), Bob Dylan's 'Like a Rolling Stone' (1965), and
the Beatles' 'Help!'. Lack of change in melody tends to highlight other
structural elements, for instance harmony in 'Help!', rhythm in 'Mickey',
lyrics in 'Along Comes Mary'. Long one-note passages are fairly rare,
but poorly developed melody is common in rock and is one characteristic
which distinguishes it from middle-of-the-road pop.
Verses,
refrains and riffs are common contexts for melodic hooks. In the Young
Rascals' 'Groovin" (1967), the lyric 'Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon'
accompanies a melodic phrase that is repeated immediately to the lyric
'Really couldn't get away too soon'. The repeating melodic segment is
a hook within a verse. 'How Can I Be Sure', also by the Rascals (1967),
begins with a marginally catchy melodic phrase behind the title lyric.
This phrase then repeats with a variation, to the lyric 'In a world that's
constantly changing'. The song continues with a lengthy verse containing
several repeating hook segments.
It is possible
for an entire, lengthy verse to be a repeating melodic hook. A prototype
for this situation is Ravel's Bolero. The melodic hook in this case works
partially on repetition because the melody is repeated over and over.
Within it, there is also a moment of modulation, when the minor seventh
first appears in the melody. This introduces a passage containing minor
seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths which can be viewed as a variation
on the preceding passage with its major scale tonality.
A melodic
modulation is a radical change in pitch content or level. The introduction
of the minor seventh in Bolero is radical for two reasons. Not only is
it a {9} departure from
a firmly established mode (the major scale) -- the new note is also a
minor seventh higher than the previous note. An interval this large is
unusual in pop song melody; in fact, any interval larger than a perfect
fifth seems distinctive. Consider these examples:
-
Beatles,
'I'll Be Back' (1964): 'You know, if you break my heart I'll go' (first
two words separated by a melodic interval of a minor sixth)
-
Dave
Clark Five, 'Because' (1964): 'Give me one kiss and I'll be happy'
(first two words separated by an interval of a major sixth)
-
Peter,
Paul and Mary, 'I Dig Rock and Roll Music' (1967): 'I dig rock and
roll music' (first two words separated by an octave)
One of the
most striking examples is the late Minnie Riperton's extremely high-pitched
passages in 'Lovin' You' (1975). The passages are surprising not only
in absolute terms (it is surprising that Riperton could sing so high)
but also in relation to the rest of the melody, which takes place in a
much lower register. The moment the high passage starts is a moment of
modulation that surprises us on first hearing and that we wait for on
subsequent hearings. It is almost beside the point whether we even find
the high passages musically pleasing. If the moment of modulation is distinctive
enough, we may listen out of mere academic interest or to have our expectations
fulfilled.
Many melodies
have a single highest note, usually at or near the end of the record.
The highest note usually marks a climax and may occur just as other structural
elements are also marking the climax. In Blood, Sweat and Tears' 'Hi-De-Ho'
(1970), the highest note is a trumpet blare which is the only sound sustained
after a full instrumental crescendo. The climax sets up a short, quiet
ending that uses the plagal cadence (IV-I). In David Ruffin's 'Walk Away
from Love' (1975), the highest note is a sudden falsetto on the last word
of 'breaks my heart'. The high note is set up by a crescendo and pause,
and by a previous but lower falsetto on the same phrase. The high note
in turn sets up the re-establishment of full instrumentation.
The highest
note in Spanky and Our Gang's 'Lazy Day' (1967) is sung by Spanky McFarlane
and accompanies a key change that sets up the final fade-out. In the same
band's 'Sunday Will Never Be the Same' (1967) the record has already begun
to fade out with McFarlane singing a high, one-note melody, when suddenly
she sings the first syllable of 'never' one step higher. The variation
provides a distinctive moment in an otherwise routine fade-out and is
arguably the climax of the record.
In Simon
and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' (1970) and Richard Harris's
'MacArthur Park', the highest note is the last note of the record. In
both cases the high note comes after a crescendo, ritardando and gradual
build in pitch involving full instrumentation. These moments, lacking
any subtlety, are among the most obvious that a radio listener might be
'hooked' into waiting for.
Lowest notes
are only rarely used as hooks. One example is the Doors' 'The Spy' (1970).
Jim Morrison provides a surprise by singing a very low last note.
Melodic
intertextuality, like rhythmic intertextuality, works as a hook if the
audience is familiar with the original source. Little Stevie Wonder's
'Fingertips, Part II' (1963) quotes 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. The end
of Chase's 'Get It On' (1971) quotes the riff in Iron Butterfly's 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida'
(1968). Blood, Sweat and Tears' 'Blues - Part II' (1969) briefly quotes
riffs from the band's own 'Somethin' Goin' On' (1968) {10}
and Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love' and 'Spoonful' (1968). It is common
for pop records to quote classical works, one of the most obvious cases
being Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, quoted by the Electric Light Orchestra
in 'Roll Over Beethoven' (1973) and by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple
Band in 'A Fifth of Beethoven' (1976). It is also common for one cut on
an album to quote other cuts on the same album, particularly in reprises
or overtures such as those in concept albums (the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and rock operas (the Who's Tommy (1969),
Jesus Christ Superstar). Wherever melody is quoted it is likely that other
elements are being quoted as well, especially harmony and rhythm, and
possibly lyrics, instrumentation, tempo, etc. Remakes are the ultimate
cases of intertextuality and are likely to quote (copy) many or most of
the structural elements of the original. Paradoxically, familiarity with
the original and its hooks may make some audience members more likely
to dislike the remake, which may be perceived as irreverent or incompetent
in its quotations of the original.
Harmony hooks
At the micro
level, every chord change is a hook, and many are modulations at that.
In most cases these changes recur within a song, and many of the patterns
of change have become genre conventions, for example:
-
I-IV-V-IV:
McCoys, 'Hang On Sloopy'; Isley Brothers, 'Twist and Shout' (I-IV-V)
(1962); Kingsmen, 'Louie, Louie' (I-IV-Vm-IV) (1963); Ritchie Valens,
'La Bamba' (I-IV-V) (1959). Charlie Gillett (1983, pp. 311, 370) provides
a brief history of this chord pattern (sometimes called the '"La
Bamba" changes') and its variations.
-
I-IV-VIm-V-IV-I:
many blues songs; Surfaris, 'Wipe Out' (has additional V at end of
verse) (1963); Canned Heat, 'Going Up the Country' (1968); Beach Boys,
'Barbara Ann' (1965)
-
I-VIm-IV-V:
J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers, 'Last Kiss' (1964); Marvelettes,
'Please Mr Postman' (1961); Led Zeppelin, 'D'yer Mak'er' (1973); Mel
Carter, 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me' (1965); Gene Chandler, 'Duke
of Earl' (1961)
-
I-
 VII-IV: Them, 'Gloria'
(1965); Guess Who, 'Hang on to Your Life' (1971); Five Man; Electrical
Band, 'Signs' ('Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign') (1971); Beatles, 'Hey
Jude' (ending) (1968); Don Henley, 'Dirty Laundry' (1982); Band, 'Chest
Fever' (verse) (1968); Donovan, 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' (chorus) (1968);
Chambers Brothers, 'Time Has Come Today' (1968); Steve Miller Band,
'Take the Money and Run' (1976); Doors, 'The End' ('Of our elaborate
plans, the end') (1967)
-
Im-VII-VI-V:
Del Shannon, 'Runaway' (verse) (1961); Ray Charles, 'Hit the Road
Jack' (1961), Simon and Garfunkel, 'A Hazy Shade of Winter' (chorus)
(1966)
-
Im-VII-VI-VII:
America, 'You Can Do Magic' (1982); Rolling Stones, 'Gimme Shelter'
(1969); Phil Collins, 'In the Air Tonight' (1981); Blue Oyster Cult,
'(Don't Fear) The Reaper' (1976); Kansas, 'Carry On, Wayward Son'
(verse) (1976)
-
Im-Immaj7
(or VII aug)-Im7 (or III
6/4)-Im6 (or VImø): Johnny Rivers, 'Summer Rain' (1967); Stevie
Wonder, 'Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing' (opening) (1974); Led Zeppelin,
'Stairway to Heaven' (opening) (1971); Elvin Bishop, 'Fooled Around
and Fell in Love' (behind the lyric 'ah') (1976)
Almost limitless
variation is possible within these patterns, and there are many {11}
other patterns (see Bobbitt 1976; Salzman and Sahl 1977). Among the more
interesting harmonic hooks are those that feature a radical change but
which preserve the basic chord pattern (i.e. they shift it to a different
key) and those that have an extremely simple pattern, an abstruse pattern
(or no pattern), or unusual chord changes within the pattern.
Among the
records listed by chord pattern above, 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me' and
'Dirty Laundry' have key changes. As with most key changes, these occur
near the end of the record. Other records with key changes include Terry
Jacks's 'Seasons in the Sun' (1974) (the key changes several times near
the end of the record, each time going higher), Curtis Mayfield's 'Freddie's
Dead' (1972) (the key rises a half step for a brief period, then falls
back to the original), Spanky and Our Gang's 'Sunday Will Never Be the
Same', Tommy James and the Shondells' 'Crimson and Clover' (1968), and
the Supremes' 'I Hear a Symphony' (1965). Once again Ravel's Bolero is
a prototype. After approximately fifteen minutes of gradual crescendo
in C, with an insistent beat and the same melody played over and over,
the key changes to E with startling effect. The melody changes, too, but
not in as pronounced a way. After only a few bars, the key changes back
to C for a brief, discordant finale (both these key changes are evident
to the ear; neither one is marked by a new key signature in the score).
Songs with
extremely simple harmonic patterns include one-chord songs (Sly and the
Family Stone's 'Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)' (1969), James
Brown and the Famous Flames' 'There was a Time' (1967), Joe Cocker's 'High
Time We Went' (1971)) and two-chord songs (the Seeds' 'Pushin' Too Hard'
(1966), Them's 'Mystic Eyes' (1965)). At the other extreme are songs with
many chord changes and a pattern that is hard to discern (if there is
a pattern at all). Grace Slick's chord changes establish only a slight
pattern in 'White Rabbit' (1967) and practically none in 'rejoyce' (sic)
(1967) (both recordings by Jefferson Airplane). That is to say, it is
difficult to divide these songs into verses or any type of segments based
on chord changes.
Many times
a particular, unusual chord change will give a song distinction. Examples
include:
-
I-II Jefferson
Airplane, 'White Rabbit'; Love, 'My Little Red Book' (1966)
-
I-V: Olivia
Newton-John, 'Magic' (1980)
-
Im-VIm: Doors,
'Light My Fire'
-
I-VI:
John Barry, 'Goldfinger' (1964)
Harmonic
intertextuality may contribute an additional hook effect in some records
through repetition of, or variations on, harmonic patterns found in other
records with which the audience is familiar. The Beach Boys' 'Surfin'
USA' (1963) quotes the harmony and much of the melody of Chuck Berry's
'Sweet Little Sixteen' (1958). George Harrison's 'My Sweet Lord' (1970)
quotes and perhaps plagiarises much of the harmony and some of the melody
from the Chiffons' 'He's So Fine' (1963). (Harrison lost a copyright infringement
case on this matter.)
Lyric hooks
It is well
known that most pop songs have trivial lyrics. (For proof, see any issue
of Song Hits magazine. For detailed thematic analyses covering the 1950s
to the 1970s, see Burns 1981, Tungate 1972/1974, Kessing 1972.) Normally
this is merely {12} incidental,
but sometimes it is the point, as in the Trashmen's 'Surfin' Bird' (1963),
which consists mostly of 'I said the bird, bird, bird/Bird is the word'.
In this case absurdity is a hook along with rhyme, alliteration and the
singer's gruff voice. More often words stand out because they mean something
unusual or because they say something in an unusual way. A striking example
of the former is 'Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss', a line from
the Who's 'Won't Get Fooled Again' (1971). Nine simple, monosyllabic words
convey a highly charged political message recalling George Orwell's Animal
Farm and repudiating a decade of Movement politics. The line rhymes with
itself in the simplest possible way and uses no other sound-based attention
devices. It is not part of any larger rhyme scheme but occurs instead
as a coda, isolated and verdict-like. In contrast to this, the Beatles'
'I Am the Walrus' (1967) uses polysyllabic words, long phrases and sentences,
and such devices as alliteration ('pornographic priestess') and onomatopoeia
('goo goo goo joob') to create an interesting sound with a cryptic, confusing
meaning. (For an excellent analysis of this and other Beatles' records,
see Lee 1968. On the influence of Lewis Carroll in 'I Am the Walrus' and
other Beatles songs, see Roos 1984.)
Sound-based
lyric hook devices include rhyme, which is the most important, and such
techniques as alliteration, onomatopoeia and assonance. Meaning-based
devices include simile, metaphor and personification. Complete catalogues
of these devices are available elsewhere (Bowen, Aggertt and Rickert 1978,
pp. 368-82; Arnold 1974, pp. 200-210; Gregg 1982. For analyses of poetic
devices in song lyrics, see Pichaske 1981; Christgau 1967; Graves and
McBain 1972; Booth 1976; Kasha and Hirschhorn 1979, chaps. 5-7). Let us
consider here some particular types of content that have a hook effect
largely independent of poetic technique. These include topical issues,
foreign language, nonsense words, catchy jargon or colloquialism, obscenity
or blasphemy, references to the music industry or musicians, and intertextual
quotations of or references to other songs. Love and sex will not be discussed
here, although they are overwhelmingly the most common subjects in pop
song lyrics. Many lyrical approaches to these topics are possible, but
most if not all of them can be viewed as variations on a few recurring
themes or formulas. These have been explored in detail elsewhere (Tungate
1972/1974; Burns 1983; Carey 1969a, 1969b; Hayakawa 1955; Horton 1957).
Topical
issues are probably the second most common type of lyric content, after
love and sex, but there are so many different issues that each topical
song is likely to have a distinctive or at least unusual subject. A recent
topical song with a subject matter hook is Billy Joel's 'Allentown' (1982).
In the past, major topical hits have had as their subject drugs, war,
pollution, advertising, religion, poverty and many other subjects (Burns
1983; Pichaske 1979; Rodnitzky 1976; Gottesman 1977; Kizer 1983). The
annual re-release of Christmas records occurs, among other reasons, because
their lyrics are topical to the season. Examples of the other types of
content hooks listed above include:
-
foreign
language: Beatles, 'Michelle' (1965); Kyu Sakamoto, 'Sukiyaki' (1963);
Labelle, 'Lady Marmalade' (1974); Styx, 'Mr Roboto' (1983)
-
nonsense
words: Little Richard, 'Tutti-Frutti' (1955); Marcels, 'Blue Moon'
(1961); Doors, 'Roadhouse Blues' (1970)
-
catchy
jargon or colloquialisms: C. W. McCall, 'Convoy' (1975); Aaron Neville,
'Tell It Like It Is' (1966); Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, 'Sock
It to Me - Baby!' (1967); Beatles, 'She Loves You' ('yeah, yeah, yeah')
(1963); Ohio Players, 'Fire' ('Say what') (1974)
-
{13}
obscenity or blasphemy: Pink Floyd, 'Money'; Beatles, 'The Ballad
of John and Yoko' (1969); John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, 'Working Class
Hero' (1970)
-
references
to the music industry or musicians: Righteous Brothers, 'Rock 'n'
Roll Heaven (1974); Mamas and the Papas, 'Creeque Alley' (1967); Lynyrd
Skynyrd, 'Sweet Home Alabama' (reference to Neil Young) (1974)
-
intertextual
quotations of or references to other songs: Reunion, 'Life Is a Rock
(But the Radio Rolled Me)' (1974); Simon and Garfunkel, 'Mrs Robinson'
(1968) (quoting the Beatles' 'I Am the Walrus'); Beatles, 'Glass Onion'
(1968) (reference to their 'I Am the Walrus', 'The Fool on the Hill'
(1967), 'Strawberry Fields Forever' (1967), 'Fixing a Hole' (1967));
Beatles, 'All You Need Is Love' (quoting their 'She Loves You'); George
Harrison, 'This Song' (1976) (reference to 'My Sweet Lord' copyright
case)
Instrumentation as hook
Whether
instrumentation sounds distinctive in a record depends on a number of
factors, including the skill of the performers, the conventions of instrumentation
at the time of the record's release and/or at the time of listening, and
the absolute level of originality of the arrangement. These factors are
important in both the vocal and instrumental domains.
The distinctiveness
of a vocal depends to a large extent on the quality of the singer's voice
(Joan Baez's vibrato, Rod Stewart's hoarse sound). In addition, the vocal
may contain unusual hook effects such as:
-
scream:
Castaways, 'Liar, Liar' (1965); Doors, 'When the Music's Over' (1967);
Who, 'Won't Get Fooled Again'
-
glissando:
Aretha Franklin, 'Angel' (1973); Led Zeppelin, 'Whole Lotta Love'
(1969)
-
speaking:
Crazy World of Arthur Brown, 'Fire' (1968); Supremes, 'Love Is Here
and Now You're Gone' (1967); Doors, 'Horse Latitudes' (1967)
-
fast
singing: Reunion, 'Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)'
-
whisper:
Donovan, 'Mellow Yellow'; Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'If 6 Was 9' (1968)
-
orgasm
sounds: Donna Summer, 'Love to Love You Baby' (1975); Duran Duran,
'Hungry Like the Wolf' (1981)
-
animal
sounds: Beatles, 'Hey Bulldog' (1969); Stray Cats, 'Stray Cat Strut'
(1981)
These are
all modulational hooks -- moments to wait for in a record. Screams and
glissandos may test the technical skill and emotional expressiveness of
a vocalist beyond the usual limits.
Instrumental
hooks most often involve unusual instruments. Examples include:
-
theremin:
Beach Boys, 'Good Vibrations' (1966)
-
harpsichord:
Donovan, 'Sunshine Superman' (1966); Doors, 'Love Me Two Times' (1967)
-
cowbell:
Strawberry Alarm Clock, 'Incense and Peppermints' (1967); Mountain,
'Mississippi Queen' (1970)
-
vibes:
Starbuck, 'Moonlight Feels Right' (1976); Jethro Tull, 'Living in
the Past'
-
electric
twelve-string guitar: Byrds, 'Mr Tambourine Man' (1965)
-
sitar:
Beatles, 'Norwegian Wood' (1965)
-
fuzz
box: Beatles, 'Think for Yourself' (1965); Yardbirds, 'Heart Full
of Soul' (1965)
-
feedback:
Who, 'My Generation' (1965); Jimi Hendrix Experience, 'Purple Haze'
(1967) {14}
-
synthesiser:
Who, 'Baba O'Riley' (1971); Donna Summer, 'I Feel Love' (1977); Edgar
Winter Group, 'Frankenstein' (1972); Steve Miller Band, 'Fly Like
an Eagle' (1976); Kim Carnes, 'Bette Davis Eyes' (1981)
-
string
ensemble: Beatles, 'Eleanor Rigby' (1966)
-
band
or orchestra: Hurricane Smith, 'Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?' (1972);
Bette Midler, 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' (1973); Beatles, 'A Day in
the Life' (1967)
Most of
the above are cases of fads. The fuzz box was new in 1965 and quite surprising
in the Beatles and Yardbirds songs listed. Over the next several years,
numerous hits included the fuzz effect. Today a fuzz sound is not very
surprising and possibly should not even be considered a hook in many cases.
However, if a style of instrumentation disappears completely from the
menu of the pop radio playlist, reviving the style may have a hook effect,
as in 'Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?' and 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'.
The climax
of 'A Day in the Life' works instead on a conceptual level and is relatively
timeless. The orchestra glissando has not provided much basis for imitation
by other artists or become the emblem of any style. It is the sound of
conceptual audacity, or one might say excellence, that hooks the audience,
in much the same way that a musician's technical audacity/excellence might.
Virtuosity seldom makes a hit, but certainly makes instrumental hooks
in the records of Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John McLaughlin and many
jazz artists.
Tempo as hook
Tempo can
be a hook if it is unexpected. It is most likely to be unexpected in the
case of a remake. We do not expect Ike and Tina Turner's 'Proud Mary'
(1971) to be so slow in the beginning or so fast at the end, but this
is based on familiarity with Creedence Clearwater Revival's original (1969).
Unexpectedly slow regardless of context are Roberta Flack's 'The First
Time Ever I Saw Your Face' (1972) and Procol Harum's 'A Salty Dog' (1969).
At the other end of the continuum are hyperfast punk records such as the
Sex Pistols' 'No Feeling' (1977).
Absolute
fastness or slowness may cease to be of interest after repeated hearings.
Tempo change provides a hook moment to listen for and is probably one
of the main reasons for the success of the Turners' 'Proud Mary'. Tempo
changes more often come toward the end of a record, as in the speed-ups
of the Yardbirds' 'I'm a Man' (1965) and Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Free Bird'
(1974) and the slow-down of Blood, Sweat and Tears' 'Go Down Gamblin"
(1971) and Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'.
Dynamics
as hook
The matter
of absolute dynamics (that is, the absolute loudness or softness of a
record) may at first glance appear to be meaningless, because control
of volume rests with an operator at the radio station. When playing records
at home, however, one easily notices that different records are recorded
at different volumes. In general, singles are louder than albums. The
1967 album Forever Changes, by a band called Love, is recorded at very
low volume. Even if this is by mistake, it produces a minor hook effect
in that it forces the listener to strain to hear, and possibly to walk
to the stereo and turn up the volume. This hook disappears if the record
is played on the radio with an operator compensating to make volume between
records constant. In {15}
any case, the hook in this case is a function of production rather than
performance. Dynamic range comes into play as a hook device through such
techniques as crescendo (gradual build), decrescendo (gradual quieting),
and sforzando (sudden loudness). Crescendo occurs in Jefferson Airplane's
'White Rabbit', the murder passage in the Doors' 'The End' (and Ravel's
Bolero). Decrescendo occurs at the end of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to
Heaven' and Jefferson Airplane's 'Martha' (1967). Sforzando occurs in
Toto's 'Rosanna' (1982) and Love's 'Alone Again Or' (1967). ('Alone Again
Or' is the first song on Forever Changes. The soft opening might cause
the listener to turn up the volume, then the sforzando occurs with startling
loudness.) A sforzando hook can be created by turning up a guitar amplifier
while a chord is sounding, as in Jethro Tull's 'Locomotive Breath' (1972).
Dynamic
contrasts can also be more cyclical or episodic. In many records, a restrained
passage is the foil or set-up for a passage at full volume. The full volume
passage invariably contains the most and catchiest melodic hooks. Examples
include Lionel Richie's 'You Are' (1982), Eric Carmen's 'All by Myself'
(1975) and Peter Frampton's 'Do You Feel Like We Do' (1976).
What might
be called the denial of dynamic contrast occurs in extreme form in some
of the work of MC5, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, and in 'heavy metal'
music in general. Noise is the point, as both a conceptual and musical
hook.
Improvisation
and accident as hooks
A number
of devices are used to give the impression of spontaneity, an impression
which may or may not be accurate. Improvisation, apparent accident and
departure from the 'expected' text can all create moments of distinctiveness
in a record. These are sometimes left on albums, less often on singles
heard on the Top Forty. Ambience and studio doodling are scattered throughout
The Beatles (white album) (1968) and Let It Be (1970), as when John Lennon
says 'I hope we passed the audition' at the end of 'Get Back' (the line
was cut from the single version and replaced by a reprise and second ending).
Part of the attractiveness of rap songs is probably their improvisatory
feel, even if they are not improvised. Instrumental solos are often improvised
in jazz and occasionally in rock. Of course, it is impossible to be certain
in many cases whether an effect on a record was planned or improvised.
One assumes that localised lyrics and performer raps on live records are
relatively unplanned, as in Chuck Berry's 'My Ding-a-Ling' (1972). Audience
applause and performer-audience interactions are left in the record for
a feel of spontaneity (and in some cases because they would be impossible
to remove). Even in a studio recording, many performers will simulate
live recording ambience (e.g. Elton John's 'Bennie and the Jets' (1974),
interject apparently spontaneous asides (e.g. Jerry Reed) or keep singing
after the lyrics have run out. For example, Gersten (1971) has asserted
that Diana Ross improvised on the last thirty seconds of the record 'Love
Child' (1968) (presumably beginning with the line 'I'll always love you').
(On performance aesthetics in rock music, see Poague 1979; Bowden 1982.)
Sound effects as hooks
Sound effects
can contribute greatly to the mood of a record and provide a distinctive
moment to listen for. Examples in addition to those already discussed
include the cash registers in Pink Floyd's 'Money' and Sweet's 'Action'
(1976), the touch-tone effect in Sugarloaf/Jerry Corbetta's 'Don't Call
Us, We'll Call You' (1974), and the {16}
explosion
in Love's '7 & 7 Is' (1966), which climaxes a crescendo and quadruple-time
chord changes and introduces a change in rhythm and tempo.
Editing as hook
As previously
mentioned, editing is usually meant to be hidden. In some cases this may
facilitate a performance hook. For example, in Reunion's 'Life Is a Rock
(But the Radio Rolled Me)' it is likely that editing was used to create
an illusion that the singer's rapid fire delivery is continuous and lacks
any pauses for breath. Editing also permitted at least three versions
of this record to be played on radio in Chicago. The regular version,
with the chorus 'Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me', played until
the song became established as a hit. After this, WLS played a version
with the words 'WLS rolled me'. WCFL played a version with the words 'CFL
rolled me'. By editing a word or two on the vocal track only, the record
company was able to create custom pressings using the original singer.
Thus another hook to the commercial benefit of both the record and the
radio station was added. A similar case occurred a few years later with
the Pointer Sisters' 'Fire' (1978).
Occasionally
the edit point itself is the locus of a hook through the juxtaposition
of elements in unlikely combinations. Frank Zappa uses such juxtapositions
frequently. A chillingly effective example is the Mothers of Invention's
'The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny' (1967). More familiar, although
sophomoric, are Dickie Goodman's pastiches featuring a 'radio interviewer'
who is answered by excerpts from hit records (e.g. 'Mr Jaws' (1975)).
Fades are
a form of editing in which transitions from one sound source to another
are gradual. The fade-out is probably the most common type of record ending
(e.g. the Beatles' 'Hey Jude', 'I Am the Walrus', and 'All You Need Is
Love', all of which have protracted fades). The fade-in occurs only rarely
(Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Suzie Q' (1968), the Beatles' 'Eight
Days a Week' (1965), Boston's 'More Than a Feeling' (1976)). The crossfade
is common on albums in which tracks run together, especially concept albums.
An example which became a hit on US radio, with the crossfade intact,
is the Alan Parsons Project's 'Sirius' and 'Eye in the Sky' (1982) ('Sirius'
is the instrumental number which crossfades into 'Eye in the Sky').
Mix as hook
The mix
of a record rarely draws attention to itself. It is seldom a hook element
itself, but rather the orchestration of other hook elements and the means
through which they come to light at the appropriate points in a record.
Some limited generalisation may be warranted on the forms this orchestration
can take. For example, Rolling Stones records tend to have loud drums
and a smothered vocal. Middle-of-the-road pop tends to have loud vocals,
horns and strings, and soft percussion. It seems that in most cases mix
accentuates what is already in the text and especially the performance,
albeit within genre conventions and with regard for the most salient hook
elements in a specific case.
Mix becomes
noticeable when a sound source we want to hear is only barely audible
(which I will call undermixing), or when a sound source seems too loud
in relation to others (which I will call overmixing). Examples of undermixing
include portions of Joe Walsh's vocal on 'Rocky Mountain Way' (1973) and
the almost inaudible guitar meanderings at the end of the Who's 'Won't
Get Fooled {17} Again'.
Possible examples of overmixing (some readers would no doubt disagree)
are the lead guitar in Steely Dan's 'Reeling in the Years' (1973) and
the sudden dissonant chord in Traffic's 'The Low Spark of High Heeled
Boys' (1971).
In the Beatles'
slow fades mentioned earlier ('Hey Jude', 'I Am the Walrus', 'All You
Need Is Love'), the mix becomes the major source of change and interest.
As the melody, harmony and lyrics of the main part of the song disappear,
all manner of conversations, screams and tape loops are paraded through
on top of a receding rhythm. As the music withers, the focus of attention
shifts to the mixture of sounds. (On the importance of mix in rock aesthetics,
see Kealy 1974/75, 1982; on the Beatles' fades, see Lee 1968).
Channel balance as hook
Channel
balance effects include isolation of an instrument in one channel, as
in the Doors' 'Love Her Madly' (1971), which has guitar on one channel
and keyboards on the other; pan effects, as in the drum solo of Iron Butterfly's
'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida', which is one of those effects that, when heard through
headphones, seems to travel through the listener's head; and call and
response, as in the guitar riff which alternates channels in West Coast
Pop Art Experimental Band's 'A Child of a Few Hours Is Burning to Death'
(1968). Channel balance effects are of limited usefulness since stereo
is so prone to aberration if the listener sits too close to one speaker.
Furthermore, if one listens in monaural the effect disappears entirely.
Signal distortion as hook
Practically
every pop record released today contains audible reverb, distinctive equalisation,
and/or more exotic effects. Cases in which the distortion effects are
especially pronounced include:
-
Gene
Vincent, 'Be-Bop-a-Lula', echo on vocal (1956)
-
C. W.
McCall, 'Convoy', equalisation on vocal to simulate CB radio
-
Styx,
'Mr Roboto', ring effect on voice at beginning
-
Iron
Butterfly, 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida', phase shifting on drum solo
-
Starland
Vocal Band, 'Afternoon Delight', phase shifting on instruments (1976)
-
Supremes,
'Nathan Jones', phase shifting on instruments (1971)
Distortion
hooks can be particularly effective if they modulate by popping in or
out. In the Buckinghams' 'Have You Noticed You're Alive' (1968), echo
is used on the singer on the first word of the chorus and elsewhere. In
Earth, Wind and Fire's 'Shining Star' (1975), a reverb effect that has
been present (and probably unnoticed) through the entire record disappears
startlingly during an unaccompanied group vocal a few seconds before the
end.
Conclusion
The purpose
of this article has been to provide a framework of categories to facilitate
what might be called hook analysis of pop records. Hook analysis is probably
as close as we can come to the 'close analysis' film critics use. Film
and television, unlike records, can be analysed frame by frame if necessary.
The frame is a molecule, the smallest unit that has meaning in itself
and is recognisable as belonging to a specific whole. Audio tape and vinyl
discs, on the other hand, are not flashed or scanned into {18}
discrete frame units. The best frozen moment representation of most records
would probably be a vertical section of sheet music, which does not reveal
anything about performance or production elements and which may not even
be recognisable as part of the whole unless one is intimately familiar
with the music and happens to pick the right moment to look at. To recognise
a record requires information on how the sound changes or does not change
over time. To analyse the record requires categories through which to
classify the characteristics that can change. The results of such analysis
include the indication of which characteristics (structural elements)
do change and which do not, when change occurs, how much change occurs,
and how patterns of repetition, variation and modulation function to attract
attention and communicate meaning.
Hook analysis
as proposed above needs testing and fine tuning in the criticism of specific
records and radio programming. In addition, the framework that has been
presented provides a potentially useful point of departure for research
into the history of pop music and into the relationship between the music
we hear and the technology and industrial process that lie behind it.
As technicians become more and more sophisticated in the application of
behavioural research in the ‘hooking’ of the audience (see Gross 1975;
Wein 1979; Goldberg 1983), a critical and humanistic approach to the understanding
of pop music is necessary to preserve the rights and integrity of both
the artists who create records and the listeners who let this music into
their lives.
Endnotes
1. The
term 'modulation' was chosen over such alternatives as 'surprise', 'climax',
'signature change', and 'major change' because it implies a change of
great magnitude, yet does not necessarily indicate a specific effect (such
as surprise) or function (such as climax). While 'modulation' has a certain
meaning in music, it is also used in broadcasting and recording to refer
to change in volume, change in the groove on a record, and change in the
carrier wave being broadcast by a radio transmitter. It does not seem
unreasonable to speak of a modulation of rhythm (change of time signature),
tempo (accelerando or ritardando), dynamics (sforzando and rests), etc.
2. 'Textual'
and non-textual' are used here as convenient but imperfect terms to separate
the song-as-idea from the eventual product made from the idea. The somewhat
artificial 'division of labour' signified by distinguishing the contributions
of the songwriter, performer and producer corresponds to the equally problematic
theatrical triumvirate of playwright, actor and director. Just as actors
often direct, musical performers often produce records (and write songs
as well). It is in the use of the word 'text' that the analogy is most
strained. The musical portion of a song is in many cases 'written' (i.e.
planned) without being written down, whereas a play and a song's lyrics
are normally developed and finalised as a script (i.e. a written-down
text). Songs that find their way on to a record will in most cases exist
in sheet music form by that time, although in many cases this written-down
text will be a transcription of the finalised music, undertaken long after
the actual writing of the song. In many cases a written-down text plays
no part at all in the development of the music of a song (whereas writing
down is standard procedure in writing lyrics or a play). Despite these
problems, 'text' will refer here to the song as 'written' (and as written
down). It is acknowledged that writing down often takes place after the
fact and is often a transcription of a performance or recording, a sort
of verification of the songwriter's efforts. The purpose of separating
'textual' from 'non-textual' elements is not to glorify or denigrate either,
but to suggest a conceptual difference between the two as potential loci
for hooks.
3. Dates
given for records will refer to the date of initial release in the US.
Dates have been determined as accurately as possible from available information.
Sources consulted were Pareles and Romanowski 1983; Logan and Woffinden
1982; Hounsome 1981; Roxon 1969; Umphred 1985; Osborne 1981; Stannard
1982; Osborne and Hamilton 1983; Whitburn 1983; Shore 1984; and album
covers and 45 labels.
4. 'Pause'
does not necessarily mean silence. In the Kiki Dee example, 'pause' refers
to the guitar string's vibration and the slight attenuation of {19}
loudness before the next note is plucked. Other records with a similar
opening include Stevie Wonder's 'Living for the City' (1974) and Dolly
Parton's '9 to 5' (1980).
5. As
Davies (1978) points out, pulses are not distinguished as separate if
they occur at intervals of less that an approximate threshold time of
two-thousandths of a second. Pitch cannot exist if the duration of a tone
is less than the time it takes to complete one cycle of vibration, for
example in a 1,000 hertz tone lasting less than one thousandth of a second
(p. 49). On threshold time, see also one of Davies's sources, Green (1971).
6. Non-textual
elements also determine the uniqueness of any live concert rendition of
a song. Since recordings are the primary area of concern in this article,
concerts per se will receive no attention but should be kept in mind as
one type of content used in many records.
7. Obviously
'text' is used here in the restrictive way explained earlier. Horn charts,
for example, would be non-textual because their creation involves arrangement
more than composition. When Blood, Sweat and Tears (1969) made a 'cover'
version of Traffic's (1967) 'Smiling Phases', they added horn parts (and
many other devices) not found in the original. The horns provide embellishment
and instrumentation that identify a record, not, ipso facto, melody and
harmony that identify a song.
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